Tag Archive | "Portage Central Invitational"

The first competitive cheer meet of 2019 took place on a foggy Saturday morning at Portage Central High School on January 5. Despite the challenges of illness and a limited practice schedule due to Christmas break, the Lady Red Hawks swept the invitational by earning first place in all three levels.

The Varsity, JV, and Middle School cheer teams sporting their medals at the Portage Central invitational. Courtesy photo.

“We were lucky enough to take all three levels (Middle School, Junior Varsity and Varsity) to Portage Central this week,” commented Varsity Coach Anne Olszewski. “We always try to take the entire program to at least one invitational so they can support one another and see one another’s hard work.”

Twelve schools competed at the Varsity level, with four teams competing in the Division 2 bracket. Although Cedar Springs consistently earned the highest scores in their Division, they ended the first round in fourth place overall and had to dig deep in order to close the gap between them and that number one spot. The squad earned their highest round three score to-date and was able to secure the second highest overall score of the event, with a combined score of 733.64, only 1.64 points behind Portage Central High School.

JV Coach Katy Hradsky remarked, “I am ecstatic at the level of skill from this small and young team and excited to see what else they achieve this season. Our scores have been consistent over the last month and we have gotten great feedback from judges and coaches on how ‘exciting, unique and fun’ our rounds are! This is just the beginning of our journey.”

“I am super proud to take an entire program to the Kalamazoo area and show them what we have just north of Grand Rapids. It’s a proud day for Red Hawk Cheerleading,” replied an enthusiastic Coach Olszewski.

The High School teams will travel to the east side of the state to compete at the Stoney Creek High School Competitive Cheer Invitational in Rochester Hills on Saturday, January 12. Good luck Lady Red Hawks!